His San Francisco attorney, Eric Safire, says his client isn't capable of murder but admits that Dow is capable of basking in the negative publicity. He believes the victims were driven to the neighborhood where they were killed roughly 80 minutes later. The 22-year-old friend of Watkins was shot 13 times. He died on November 1, 2004 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. "Andre's daddy had a hard time getting in that funeral. Authorities are searching for those responsible for murdering three men early Wednesday morning. He was "Fat Tone the Untouchable." Laursen, meanwhile, ended up in the Bay Area, where she lived out of hotels at times and offered her services -- as "Alana" -- over the Craigslist Web site, police say. Representatives for Dre confirmed his death, saying in a statement: "Dr Dre … She thought he'd take care of her. Dre's third child, Andre Young Jr, died of a drug overdose in August 2008 Credit: Getty Images - Getty. Vallejo rapper Andre "Mac Dre" Hicks wasn't on MTV, on magazine covers or in movies. Syko, the Seattle rapper and producer best known for producing Mac Dre's iconic hyphy anthem " Thizzle Dance," was killed in a car accident on Friday, Nov. 16, according to friends and fans posting on social media. Nevertheless, hundreds of mourning relatives arrived at Oakland's Mountain View Cemetery on Wednesday morning only to be told they couldn''t enter by funeral home sentries posted at the door with a prepared list. Mathis was arrested July 12 in San Francisco, where police said he had beaten his girlfriend. His Las Vegas attorney, Keith Brower, was not available for comment. Three posthumous albums that came out after his death were: Dre Day: July 5 th 1970 in 2008, Judge Dre Mathis in 2005 and Pill Clinton in 2007. On the night of Nov. 4, Fairfield police officers went to a quiet neighborhood after residents reported hearing gunfire. A day later, a white 2000 Pontiac Sunfire convertible was found burning in Vallejo. The popular gangsta rapper, whose given name was Andre Hicks, was fatally shot last week in Kansas City, Mo., as he rode in the back seat of a van on his way to his hotel. That included Mac Dre's father, Bernard Hicks said. At one point, names were called, like a lottery, and relayed through the crowd. In some cases, guests were included on the list but not their children or spouses. The father told police that he rescued his daughter once, in the month before the killing, but that she voluntarily returned to Las Vegas. Two days later, a 21-year-old call girl who was in Las Vegas with them turned up dead in Fairfield, shot in the head. In 2006, Dre’s tombstone was stolen from Mountain View Cemetery. At the time of the killing, San Francisco promoter Andre "Mac Minister" Dow, his friend Jason Mathis and call girl Lee Danae Laursen were in Las Vegas, according to police. Police investigators say Hicks, 34, was shot in a financial dispute, but the rumor mill said something sexier: that a West-Midwest rap war had flared and that a notorious Kansas City rapper dubbed "Fat Tone" had taken out Hicks. He was found near Watkins' body. The saga began quietly, in the early morning hours of Nov. 1, 2004, as Hicks rode in a white van driven by a friend through Kansas City. "This site is dedicated to the legacy of Tupac Shakur and all the other souljahs who dare to struggle; alive & dead", Thug Life Army is a division of Star Sound Music Group®, The Hip Hop World losses a Tupac Shakur Historian and founder of Thug Life Army (PRESS RELEASE}, Former N.W.A Manager Jerry Heller Dies At 75, Ice Cube Accuses Hillary Clinton Of Waging War On Black People, The CHICANO RADIO NETWORK U.S.A. announced last week that Studio B will be returning in September, Update on Bobby (DTTX) from Lighter Shade of Brown posted by KID FROST, A Jailhouse Snitch Alleges He Was Sent To Set Up Suge Knight (Graphic Video), Tupac biopic All Eyez on Me gets teaser trailer. His name always came up," Babcock said. Six months later, police say, a San Francisco rap promoter nicknamed "Mac Minister" and a friend avenged Hicks in Las Vegas by firing 33 assault-rifle rounds into two Kansas City men -- including Anthony "Fat Tone" Watkins. Fat Tone was a large figure, literally and figuratively. Mariko Nash (1969 – August 2016), better known by his stage name Reek Daddy, and also Instigator or Freak da Babbi was an American rapper from Vallejo, California.He was the owner of NOYB Records, a subdivision late Mac Dre's label Thizz Entertainment A Hip-Hop Pioneer Loses His Leg. The van's driver crashed and called 9-1-1, but Hicks was pronounced dead at the scene from a bullet wound to the neck. After Hicks and other Thizz Entertainment members had performed a show in Kansas City, Missouri on October 31, 2004, an unidentified gunman shot at the group's van as it traveled on U.S. Route 71 in the early morning hours of November 1. The van swerved across a grass median and four freeway lanes, then crashed into a ditch. Born in Oakland, CA #34. According to Las Vegas police Detective Todd Hendrix, Watkins told his mother and girlfriend that Dow had promised him a meeting with Snoop Dogg. After he was shot and wounded in 2003, when he was 22, his next album cover showed him sitting up in a hospital gurney flashing a middle finger. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the crime. But when it came to Hicks' death, he said, the rumor had legs. But his clever, hardcore rhymes had an underground following, and when he was killed on a Kansas City freeway last November, hip-hop radio stations mourned him at length. Salvatto said she had never even heard of Dow or Mathis. The 35-year-old rap promoter was indicted Nov. 2 in Las Vegas on murder charges stemming from the deaths of Watkins and Akins. First Name Mac #5. His problems were behind him when he was killed, Salvatto said, and he talked about mentoring teenagers to keep them flying straight. A few feet away, 22-year-old Jermaine Akins -- a friend who was a fugitive from federal cocaine-selling charges -- also lay dead after being shot 13 times. He was American by natinoanliy. The Kansas City rapper, 24, was shot 20 times. Hard feelings added to the grief of family members and friends of slain Vallejo rap star Mac Dre when many were turned away from his funeral Wednesday. The person whose name was called then pushed his or her way through to the chapel doors and was let in, with the door immediately closing behind them; according to Rachel Raskin-Zrihen - VALLEJO TIMES-HERALD. Despite serving a five-year prison sentence for conspiracy to commit bank robbery, Hicks was no thug, his mother said. Laursen's father has told police that his daughter was forced into prostitution by Mathis, who "would escort her into various Las Vegas hotels hiding an AK-47 under his clothing," according to Mathis' arrest warrant. Andre Hicks, 34, known as Mac Dre, was killed about 3:30 a.m. Monday when another vehicle pulled up beside the driver's side of the van he was in and began shooting, police said. They were turned away, however, when their names were not found on the list. Some, when approached, even pretended they didn't know Hicks. ... DEATH DATE Nov 1, 2004 (age 34) Popularity . "She was completely snowed by Mathis. About. Mac Dre was shot to death while returning to his hotel after a performance in Kansas City, Missouri. "This is the greatest thing that has happened to him," Safire said, referring to the marketing and appeal of violence in gangsta rap. His mother, Wanda Salvatto, said she'd heard about her son's death at least three times before. 3:52 PM PT-- Mac's family has just released a statement on his death, saying, "Malcolm McCormick known and adored by fans as Mac Miller, has tragically passed away at … Meanwhile, another car -- a white Pontiac Sunfire -- was spotted speeding away from the scene. Death On November 1, 2004, Mac Dre was shot to death while returning to his hotel after a performance in Kansas city. Vallejo rapper Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks’ slaying last year in Kansas City has been linked to the killings of three other people, in Las Vegas and the Bay Area, and two San Francisco men have been indicted in two of the killings. Dow was with his 28-year-old girlfriend. Laursen, who came from the small town of Payson near Provo, Utah, might have been turning tricks for Mathis, police said. We pleaded with her to get out of there so she wouldn't be harmed.". Hicks, who grew up in Vallejo's hardscrabble Country Club Crest neighborhood, first gained radio airplay as a teenager with a song titled, ironically, "2 Hard 4 the (expletive) Radio." "He was proud he was a suspect.". The registered owner: Lee Danae Laursen. Castaneda was signed to Mac Dre’s label after Dre, 34, had already passed away, said Black Dog Bone, the editor of Murder Dog magazine, a popular rap magazine based in Vallejo. Demian Bulwa oversees the news operation, including metro, politics, business, sports and investigative reporting, and co-hosts the 5th & Mission podcast. Tavores Henderson, 21, is accused of hitt… Mathis had rented a house less than five blocks from the murder scene. Mac Dre real name was Andre Louis Hicks. This portable charger is $14 and can charge your phone 6... How a virtual movie club has helped me survive the pandemic, This Le Creuset sauteuse is down to its Black Friday price, San Francisco's Camp Mather cancels 2021 season, "The health of our campers and staff are the most important consideration. The Oakland chapel seats only about 100 people, a fact that infuriated relatives who wanted the funeral held at Fairfield's Mount Calvary Baptist Church, the site of Tuesday's viewing. He was a student at Hogan High School. Mac Dre was buried in the Mountain View Cemetery following the service, officiated by former Oakland Raiders football player Pastor Jerone Davidson of Fairfield's Bountiful Harvest Ministry Church. He had long been the subject of rap world rumors. In other cases, people not on the list were allowed in before others who were. Most Popular #16783. There, Laursen was seen in a gun shop nine days before the killing, where she bought ammunition similar to that used to kill Watkins and Akins, according to grand jury testimony. Hard feelings added to the grief of family members and friends of slain Vallejo rap star Mac Dre when many were turned away from his funeral Wednesday. "If Andre were here, he'd be shaking his head.". Half the Hicks family couldn''t get in, and others refused to go in because of the way they were treated," said Bernard Hicks. In the world of hip-hop, police say, bad blood often means good business. His body was found May 23 in an unfinished housing development in Las Vegas. Born on July 5 #44. The violent story, pieced together through interviews and court records, reflects the blurry line between rumor and reality in the world of underground rap. Born in Oakland, Calif., Hicks dropped three albums in the late '80s with the raunchiness typical of West Coast rap. She prefers to ignore the hype and enjoy the sight of young people wearing "Mac Dre" T-shirts, some who discovered his music in the past year. Kansas City police Detective Everett Babcock, who cleared Watkins in Hicks' death, feared that rumors following the shooting might turn deadly. "It was total chaos," said Bernard Hicks, adding he was forced to argue to gain admittance for himself and his immediate family. "I don't even know who's in the war," she said. He was once arrested in the killing of a pregnant woman, although the charges were dropped. Asked Tuesday about relatives'' fears they would be turned away Wednesday, Dre's mother, Wanda Salvatto of Vallejo, insisted they would be allowed to attend. No arrests have been made in the case. Detective Babcock said the investigation was hampered early by the reluctance of Hicks' travel companions to cooperate. Mac Dre’s net worth is estimated at around 1.5$ million. Hard feelings added to the grief of family members and friends of slain Vallejo rap star Mac Dre when many were turned away from his funeral Wednesday. "The tragedy of the whole thing is that, assuming (the woman killed in Fairfield) was killed as retribution for being a witness, that's three people dead over a financial matter over an amount of money that wouldn't pay for a weekend in Vegas," said Babcock, who would not elaborate on the alleged dispute except to say that Watkins was not a suspect in Hicks' death. ". Just hours before the killings, Hendrix said, MGM Grand cameras recorded Dow leaving the hotel with Watkins and Akins. A car pulled up next to the white van carrying Dre. https://m.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/A-deadly-tale-of-underground-rap-Vallejo-s-Mac-2592387.php Curiously, I cannot find how law enforcement or the press came to know the status and model of the suspect vehicle. Several months later, Watkins denied in a rap song that he had killed Hicks, but "the rumor was that he admitted it," Babcock said. CASH-flashing rapper Killah Dre who “killed a female cop in a hit and run” has been arrested using HER own handcuffs after two days on the run. The two San Francisco men were indicted on murder charges early this month. Dre is credited for creating the “hyphy movement.” Salvatto, Hicks' mother, said she doesn't know what to make of the killings and finds it hard to believe that they are connected to her son's death -- although she has noticed that "people like to be tied to the drama." Mac Dre: his birthday, what he did before fame, his family life, fun trivia facts, popularity rankings, and more. "The timing of it is uncanny.". As friends and families of the deceased are mourning the passing of their loved and cherished Mac Dre. "Every shooting that happened (in Kansas City), you would get calls saying, 'Fat Tone did it, Fat Tone did it.' That church seats about 2,000. + Add or change photo on IMDbPro » Mac Dre was born on July 5, 1970 in Vallejo, California, USA as Andre Hicks. Lizzo took to Twitter on Monday (Sept. 16) to express some frustration with the food delivery app, Postmates. A dark-colored SUV was seen speeding away. Mac Dre Death – Dead: A great loss was made known to InsideEko. Dr. Dre Shares Message After Suffering Brain Aneursym. The crush of mourners waiting in Wednesday morning's drizzle pressed up the steps and against the chapel's glass doors to plead their case for admittance. Laursen was pronounced dead at the scene from a head wound. A deadly tale of underground rap / Vallejo's Mac Dre was slain in a dispute over money -- rumors led to reprisal and 3 more killings, police say, SAN FRANCISCO / Long-sought promoter denies killings, A Rapper's Killing Triggers Three Deaths. Slaying victims Watkins and Akins were in Las Vegas for a Snoop Dogg concert at the Palms and were staying at the MGM Grand. The 34-year-old Vallejo resident, who made more than 20 underground albums, was killed Nov. 1, 2004, during a trip to Kansas City, where he was performing. I rode this Peloton competitor for 21 days. He'd been shot about 20 times and was slumped over the front seats of a blue 1992 Toyota Tercel, according to grand jury testimony. According to Mathis' arrest warrant, he later admitted to a friend that he had shot Watkins and Akins to avenge Hicks' killing. Investigators soon discovered he was wanted in Las Vegas, where he later pleaded not guilty. Soon, Mathis' Saturn sedan, which Laursen had been driving, turned up burning in Richmond, said Fairfield police Lt. Tony Shipp. The Optimism Remains After doctors amputated part of former Yo!MTV Raps host Andre “Doctor Dré” Brown’s leg, his family set up … He was born on July 5, 1971 at Oakland, California, United States. Las Vegas investigators tracked her down in July, and during an interview in San Francisco, Hendrix said he and another detective begged her to cooperate, even offering assistance to help her regain her life. See full bio » He is a former metro editor and longtime reporter at the paper whose chief topics included policing, civil rights, public corruption and big-wave surfing. 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